Cape Cod’s youth were the focus of the Cape and Islands Workforce Investment Board/Youth Council annual meeting June 24 in Hyannis.

“One of (our) key concentrations is focusing on the youth coming up through the education system and going into the workforce,” said Suzanne Bump, state Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development. Partnering students out of high school and college with careers was of great importance not only to the invited speakers but also the audience and board members.

Peter Fleury of Plymouth Rock Studios talked about opportunities for young people when he said the planned studio would include an educational component to train students at the college level, as well as those in the vocational and technical schools, to gear their work toward the entertainment industry.

The Youth Council spotlighted two local young adults, a woman from Harwich and a man from Barnstable, who are on their way to college by presenting each a $1,000 grant.

Other key focuses of Labor & Workforce Development, Bump said, include building the capacity of the state workforce investment board. “The system has four active committees,” she said, “and they are following the governor’s word by looking across the state government to see where connections need to be made.” The third component, Bump spoke of was the alignment of state workforce divisions. By coordinating efforts with organizations in areas such as health and human services, she said, the department is trying to create something better than the sum of its parts.

“Possibilities are endless,” Fleury said while explaining the state-of-the-art, green-smart movie studio on which construction is slated to start early next year. “Everything is still in development, but things are going smoothly.”

Fleury said the studio could add 2,000 high-paying jobs to the South Shore labor market, adding that the studio is working with unions so that local residents have the first rights to these jobs. He confirmed that there would be short-term housing available to employees but only short-term, because the studio does not want Hollywood coming out and taking over.

The studio insists on staying local. “The Cape being close neighbors, we want them in on the action,” said Fleury, “We believe that Plymouth and Cape Cod residents take precedence for these jobs.”